Where's the Depth in Women's Marathoning?

Times have slowed drastically, around the world, in recent years

If there ever was a heyday for women's marathoning, it was at the turn of the 21st century. During the dot-com boom and the housing bubble and after a 13-year wait, Tegla Loroupe of Kenya broke Ingrid Kristiansen's world record at the Rotterdam Marathon in 1998 by 19 seconds with her 2:20:47. Like the first person into the pool, she soon had company. Loroupe broke her record again the following year. In 2001, prophetic of things to come, Naoko Takahashi of Japan brought the women's mark under 2:20 with her 2:19:46.

Then Catherine (Ndereba) the Great. Then Paula Radcliffe. Then Radcliffe again. Overworked historians hardly had their ink dry before it was time to pull out pens for an addendum.

When the dust settled in the spring of 2003, the women's marathon world record had, over five years, dropped 5 minutes, culminating in Radcliffe's 2:15:25. In the same time, the men's marathon record had dropped 27 seconds.

The American women followed a similar pattern. Joan Benoit Samuelson's 2:21:21, set in the 1985 Chicago Marathon, was broken by Deena Kastor in 2003. The mark was further lowered in 2006 when Kastor ran her current American record of 2:19:36 in London.

But like an engine given too much gas, the momentum of the new century of women's marathoning has seemingly stalled in the last five years. The fast spring and fall marathons of 2010 have been run. The paper cups have been swept from the street and the best in the world have had their footfalls recorded by history. And where do we find the results?

London was taken in 2:22. Rotterdam in 2:25. Berlin was won in 2:23. Liliya Shobukhova's 2010 Chicago Marathon performance of 2:20:25 was the 15th fastest of all time, behind results dating as far back as 2001. And even more startling: It was the fastest time since Irina Mikitenko ran 2:19:19 in 2008.

The American scene has followed a similar trend, only magnified. Benoit Samuelson's ghost still haunts four spots of the American top eight, and if it weren't for Kastor, would retain its hegemony. And while Kastor hasn't yet hung up her racing flats, her record seems impervious even to its progenitor – especially now that she's pregnant. Among other current American elites, Kara Goucher's 2:25:53 – more than 6 minutes slower than Kastor's record – is the next fastest PR.

While running as an industry has proven recession-proof, women's marathon times have been as vulnerable as anything else. From what lofty heights we have fallen. The question is: Why?

RECORD QUALITY

The competitiveness of women's road racing is as fierce as it always has been, and always will be. Someone always wants to win. The question under discussion is why that competition isn't a few minutes faster.

Even if we discount Radcliffe as an extreme outlier and regard her 2:15 as an aberration, we should still at least see women routinely running in the low 2:20s.

Part of the reason we're not, says Tom Ratcliffe, head of KIMbia Athletics, which has represented many top Kenyan marathoners, is that many Kenyan women are still on the track.

"There's a lot of national pride in competition in the world championships and Olympics," Ratcliffe says. "[Traditionally] you're either a track runner or a marathoner."

Ratcliffe sees a trend away from such stereotypes for women in coming years. But examining the Kenyan men, he sees almost the opposite: A new generation of Kenyan men are drawing inspiration from the successes of Sammy Wanjiru and other young Kenyan marathoners, taking to the roads directly as their specialty, instead of after a traditional career of track work. Conversely, from Ratcliffe's perspective, young Kenyan women are influenced more by the younger Vivian Cheruiyots of the track than the older Catherine Nderebas of the roads.

"A lot of those women can run under 2:20 if they move up to the marathon," Ratcliffe says. "At some point, [women's marathoning] will be as steady as the men's."

The question is incentive. While the monetary reward is there for the marathon, Ratcliffe notes that there aren't exactly slim pickings for competition and success on the European track circuit, especially with the Diamond League meets. And when it comes down to it, "Athletes are running for financial reward," Ratcliffe says. It doesn't matter if it comes from the roads or around an oval.

But the money beckons. Ratcliffe sees the same trend in men's marathoning – that is, the steady lowering of mean times through the steady lowering of the mean age the athletes have on the starting line – expanding into women's marathoning. "As there is success, there is incentive for kids to get into it," he says.